"I've knocked a couple over by accident," he said with a chuckleon Tuesday afternoon.

Francona might not hear the clamoring for a temper tantrum. Hetries not to pay attention to such things.

In all likelihood, however, he has heard - directly orindirectly - from those who want him to turn over a buffet table,get thrown out of a game, challenge his players' manhood. His teamhas fallen to pieces around him. His players have underperformedwoefully, both in the context of their season to date and in thecontext of their checking accounts.

His own job - for the first time since his arrival in Boston -might be on the line.

But there is no eve of destruction in the Red Sox clubhouse.None of the bat racks have anything to worry about. When Franconawas fired from the Philadelphia Phillies more than a decade ago, hemade one promise to himself: He'd never be anything but true tohimself - and fiery clubhouse speeches just aren't a part of who heis.

"Being consistent is probably the best thing I can do," he said."Everybody probably feels different. I bet you there are a handfulof guys who want to knock over the food, get loud. I think you'vegot to be true to yourself. Whether people agree with it or not, ifI'm not true to myself, I'm not doing it correctly."

Terry Francona and the Red Sox - even after their heart-poundingwin over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night featuring one ofthe unlikeliest of heroes - stand on the precipice of disaster.

Few teams have ever fallen so completely apart in the month ofSeptember the way the Red Sox have. All are as unforgettable totheir respective fan bases as - maybe more unforgettable than -their champions. Someone wins the World Series every year. It's notevery year that someone fumbles away a nine-game cushion for aplayoff spot in the span of a month.

As the Red Sox have lost game after game, night after night, thevolume of the pleading has increased, the pleading for Francona -the manager of the team, after all - to say something or dosomething or break something to snap the team out of what long agostopped being just a funk.

In good times - and there were plenty of good times in May,June, July and August, when the Red Sox were the best team in theAmerican League - Francona has taken something of a laid-backapproach to managing.

He doesn't like tinkering for the sake of tinkering. He doesn'tlike jerking around relief pitchers based on the whims inherent ina long season. He doesn't like moving starters into and out of therotation without looking at the big picture.

Even when he shuffled the lineup last weekend, bumping CarlCrawford up to the No. 2 hole for the first time since April, hedid so with more in mind than sending a message or shaking thingsup.

He has adamantly, fervently, stubbornly clung to that sameapproach while everything has disintegrated around him inSeptember. He wouldn't be able to sleep at night otherwise.

"It's easy when things are going well," he said. "But whenthey're not going well, you try to stay true to yourconvictions."

The Red Sox might or might not make the playoffs. Even a win onWednesday might not be enough to ensure anything but a trip toTropicana Field for a one-game playoff game - a game for which theRed Sox have so little starting pitching they're still outshopping.

Francona, of course, will have plenty of regrets if the seasonends as early as Wednesday or Thursday. Staying true to hismanagerial style - and staying loyal to his players - will not beone of them.

"There's been enough guys that I've been in that clubhouse withfor a long time that I believe in them," he said. "I know where weare. I know what we've gone through. I also know what we want toaccomplish, and the best way to accomplish that is to believe inour guys and what we're doing.

"I really don't want to be that guy that talks about 'we' whenwe're playing well and 'they' when we're not. That doesn't workreal well. My job is to remain positive and upbeat and believe inour guys - and I do, anyway."

bmacpherson@providencejournal.com

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.